STEMcast: Recent Episodes
STEMcast
STEMcast is a not-for-profit podcast that serves to highlight the connections between the largely varying subfields of STEM. We interview guest speakers from a diverse range of fields to answer the most commonly asked questions by undergraduate students about their respective career.
This week on STEMcast, we interview Kyne Santos, renowned math communicator and drag queen, known familiarly on TikTok and Instagram as OnlineKyne. With short content math videos, Kyne explores the mathematical world at all educational levels, all while dressed fabulously in drag! In this episode, we learn more about Kyne, his introduction to both the math and drag worlds, and how he uses his platform to expand access to education. We discuss the importance of scientific communication, the overlaps of art and science, and how queerness and gender interact with the STEM world. To top it off, we throw in our own experiences with synthetic biology, education in iGEM and our own experiences navigating STEM spaces as queer individuals. Tune in for personal stories, humour and new insights into how queer identity and STEM can intersect!
This week on STEMcast, we interview three professionals doing impressive technical and advocacy work across academia and industry, and ask them about their experiences with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in a panel-style format. You'll hear from Aflah Hanafiah, a graduate student researching epigenetics and a prominent advocate working to uplift LGBTQIA+ voices in academia; Mel Rees, an oil and gas systems operator with expertise in the energy sector, who also shares a passion for advocacy and promoting inclusivity in STEM; and Anmol Nagpal, the CEO and co-founder of a start-up specializing in therapeutics for genetic neurological disorders, and a passionate advisor in the biotech start-up sphere.Tune in for inspiring stories, insights on current DEI challenges, and discussions on how we—as students and professionals—can help shape a future where all voices are empowered in STEM spaces.
Welcome to the Beyond the Lab series of STEMcast! Today, AI is helping us understand what allowed us to create it in the first place: our brains. Although the intersection of neuroscience and AI is nothing new, tools that leverage this combination are now making their way from the lab and into consumer markets. What are these tools? Why are they better equipped to analyze neural data, and why are researchers launching entrepreneurial ventures to bring them to life?
In this episode, Adrien Peyrache and Blake Richards, professors at McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute and pioneers in the NeuroAI space, join us to discuss their research careers and what led them to co-found Lamarck Labs, a neurotech company building foundation models for neuroscience.
Note: After this episode, this series will be taking a short break. We’re excited to come back in the Fall, refreshed and ready to share more stories beyond the lab.
In this episode we cover:
(01:27) A rave that lead to Blake’s research origins
(04:03) Adrien’s scientific beginnings
(09:05) Scientific collaboration: How did they meet and start working together?
(14:53) Why are AI systems better at “decoding the brain”?
(19:59) Entrepreneurial collaboration: Founding Lamarck Labs
(25:58) Why now? Using foundations models in neuroscience
(31:35) Applications of foundation models in Lamarck Labs
(37:00) What excites and worries both professors about the future of this technology.
Further reading/listening
- Read more about Prof. Adrien Peyrache here
- Read more about the Peyrache Lab
- Read more about Prof. Blake Richards here
- Read more about LiNC Lab
- Read more about Lamarck Labs here
- Papers, essays and other media that we mentioned:
- Paper: Sequential Predictive Learning is a unifying theory for hippocampal representations and replay
- SuperDataScience Podcast with John Krohn
- Adrien Peyrache’s Amazing Brain Science Talk
- Blake Richards’ Amazing Brain Science Talk
Host and producer : Sabrina Du
Contact: igem@mcgill.ca
Welcome to the Beyond the Lab series of STEMcast! With Prof. Andrew Millis, Professor of Physics at Columbia University and co-director of the Center for Computational Quantum Physics at the Flatiron Institute, we dive into the fundamental and fundamentally strange world of quantum mechanics and how it is connected to the world of everyday things. How do collective properties arise from the interaction of individual atoms and electrons? How is the whole different from the sum of its parts? Alongside these questions, we discuss the origins of the Simons Foundation and its internal research division, the Flatiron Institute. Prof. Millis describes the philosophy of philanthropy-driven science at Flatiron, how it differs from traditional academic funding models, and how it fosters a culture of collaboration. Thanks to this culture, the whole can truly go beyond the sum of its parts.
Note: At 3:30-4:51, there is a difference in audio quality. Our sincerest apologies!
In this episode, we cover:
(01:21) What is quantum condensed matter physics?
(5:15) Simons Foundation and the Flatiron Institute
(12:54) Funding models for long-term projects
(16:21) A culture of collaboration at the Flatiron
(20:03) Interdisciplinary vs. deep domain expertise
(24:25) Sharing a “common language” between fields
(30:20) Picking up the basics of mathematics and physics
(33:06) Philanthropic funding
Further reading/listening
- Read more about Prof. Andrew Millis
- Read more about the Simons Foundation
- Read more about the Flatiron Institute
Episode host and producer: Sabrina Du
Contact: igem@mcgill.ca
Welcome to the Beyond the Lab series of STEMcast! This week, we are joined by Matthew Cobb, Professor of zoology (Professor Emeritus) at the University of Manchester, historian and author. From the discovery of the double helix to the 1975 Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA, we explore various historical events that shaped public perception of the life sciences and talk about how the history of science can help explain disruptive technologies. Through these discussions, Prof. Cobb draws our attention both to the scientist(s) that made the discovery and to the discovery that made the scientist(s). Is there more to the connection that binds the two?
Note: Many readings and resources were mentioned during this episode. Please find links to all of them below.
In this episode we cover:
(01:11) Origin of Prof. Cobb’s research interests
(07:29) A Second Hat: Prof. Cobb as a Historian
(11:38) Public opinion shaping life sciences discoveries and vice-versa
(14:44) Using history to communicate disruptive technologies
(21:58) How a scientific background positions you as a historian: His experience with Rosalind Franklin Archives
(25:37) Tug-of-war between scientific advancement and ethical concerns
(30:22) Protecting ethical science in a publish or perish culture
(34:41) Using history to communicate the importance of foundational advances: The Story on PCR and CRISPR
(37:39) The discovery versus the individual who discovered: Watson Crick and the discovery of the double helix
Further reading/listening
- Read more about Prof. Matthew Cobb
- Listen to Prof. Cobb’s 2024 Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Prize Lecture
- View annotated copies of Rosalind Franklin’s DNA notebooks
- Extended show notes
Books mentioned:
- The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (James Watson)
- The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul (Francis Crick)
- As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age ((Matthew Cobb)
- Crick: A Mind in Motion (Matthew Cobb)
Episode host and producer : Sabrina Du
Contact: igem@mcgill.ca
Welcome to STEMCast: Beyond the Lab, a series where we explore the many hats that scientists wear. From professors embarking on entrepreneurial journeys to researchers involved in policy making, join us as we explore both inside and beyond the lab.
With Dr. Shari Wiseman, Chief Editor at Nature Neuroscience, we peer into her journey from the lab bench to the editor's desk, and how that transition gave her a broad view of scientific progress in neuroscience. Dr. Wiseman shares her perspective on the future of the field, explains how her team identifies and nurtures emerging research, and describes the responsibility of curating a journal that sets global research standards. From the art and science of publishing to the importance of listening to your emotions as a student, this conversation is filled with practical wisdom for scientists at every stage.
In this episode, we cover:
(00:40) Dr. Wiseman’s research background and appreciation for lab culture
(4:28) How did her interest in scientific editing emerge?
(8:20) Finding excitement and fulfillment as Chief Editor at Nature Neuroscience
(12:49) Curating Nature Neuroscience
(16:27) Creativity in science publishing and shaping the field
(21:46) Current and emerging trends in neuroscience
(28:08) Paradigm shifts in neuroscience
(32:14) Open science
(36:13) The future of neuroscience and neuroscience publishing
(39: 52) Advice for students
Further reading
- Read more about Dr. Shari Wiseman
- Read Nature Neuroscience’s July Issue
- Nature Neuroscience is hiring!
Episode host and producer: Sabrina Du
Contact: igem@mcgill.ca
Dr. Peter Grutter, a physicist studying and developing atomic force microscopy (AFM), takes this episode to walk us through the varying facets of his work. We begin by understanding how manipulating the properties of nanoscale materials can alter their behaviours in ways unintuitive to us macro-scale beings, despite them following the same basic universal ruleset as everything else: physics. The episode continues to explore Dr. Grutter’s work, which involves using AFM to measure Nanonewton-scale forces or evaluate the shape of Nanometer-scale objects. He explains how this cutting-edge tool is applicable to a plethora of fields, including microbiology. Tune in to learn how physics is contributing to the fight against cancer at scales smaller than an atom!
This special episode of STEMcast is cut from a seminar presented to participants of miniGEM, a mini version of the iGEM competition that McGill’s iGEM team runs for high school students across Canada. We learn about the judges’ paths into synthetic biology, and we hear their opinions on various topics, like ‘how important is the visual component of an iGEM project?’, or ‘what features do award-winning projects have that others don’t?’. Tune in to step up your iGEM game!
On this episode of STEMcast, Dr. Julia Freeman walks us through her experience working with farmers in India to understand the impact that modern biotechnology is having on both a personal and industrial level. She explains that biotech has more complicated questions associated with it than what most sensationalist coverage about it (both pro- and anti-biotech) makes apparent. Where is biotech a solution, and where does it need legislative protection? How to protect farmers health and economic well-being while taking advantage of these technologies? Are farmers choosing these seeds, or is biotech being forced upon them? Hear an on-field perspective in this episode of STEMcast.
This STEMcast episode, we are joined by Dr. Jay Nadeau, an astrophysicist currently part of the search for extraterrestrial life and a key founder of McGill’s first iGEM team. We hear about how Dr. Nadeau’s career led her to McGill and how her physics background complements her biological work, before discussing the thermodynamic probability of life arising on other planets/moons, and how humanity might go about finding it.
Fungi enthusiast and expert Dr. Shireef Darwish gives us a window into the third class of life on earth (after plants and animals) — fungi. After falling in love with these organisms early in his career, Dr. Darwish has experimented with all sorts of fungi-related work, including teaching, lab work, and even foraging for rare fungi (often to take home and eat!). In this episode, Dr. Darwish explains the ubiquitous role fungi play in the life cycles of both plants and animals, how these organisms can be used medicinally, and even the chemistry behind fungi-based hallucinogens.
In this episode of STEMcast, we join Simon Daoust to discuss the intersection of ecology, evolution, and medicine. We hear about everything from mind-controlling parasites to sustainable ecosystem design, and explore questions like “will there ever be a cure to cancer?”, or “why are Homo Sapiens the only human-like species to have avoided extinction?”. Dr. Daoust’s broad expertise provides for a thrilling and humorous deep-dive into all of these.
In this episode of STEMcast, we join Dr. Nagissa Mahmoudi — a biogeochemist at McGill University — in exploring how microbes live and thrive in various extremes. We hear how Dr. Mahmoudi fell in love with biology, and how she spends her days now as an educator and researcher. She provides wisdom on how events such as oil spills can affect their ecosystems’ microbiomes, and we hear an expert’s predictions on the possibilities of life outside of Earth. All this and more on this episode of STEMcast.
Join us on this episode of STEMCast as we explore topics ranging from NeuroAI to student entrepreneurship with Yohaï-Eliel Berreby, a current Ph.D. student at McGill University's School of Biomedical Sciences. He is a CAMBAM and Childress Fellow and has received many prestigious awards alongside his doctoral studies in one of McGill's most renowned programs. Besides pursuing NeuroAI research, he has also won multiple high-profile hackathons (e.g., ReadyTraderGo Algorithmic Market Making Competition, Meta's AI Safety Hackathon, etc.) and is the acting CEO of ShapeShifters, an IT consulting firm based in Paris. How has he managed to balance so many commitments? What advice would he give to students? Hear it all on this episode of STEMCast.
In this episode of STEMCast, we will be diving into the world of artificial intelligence with Professor Aaron Courville, with topics spanning from Game Theory to Explainable AI. Prof. Courville is from the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at Université de Montréal. He is one of the founding members of Mila and a Canada CIFAIR AI Chair.
Alongside Ian Goodfellow and Yoshua Bengio, he co-wrote the seminal textbook on deep learning: aptly named Deep Learning. His current research focuses on developing deep learning models and methods, with a particular interest in reinforcement learning, deep generative models, and multimodal ML in the domains of language and vision.
In this episode, we dive into the wonders of the depths of Earth's oceans and the reaches of empty space to explore the role that microorganisms play in life everywhere with Dr. Nagissa Mahmoudi, a specialist in Geomicrobiology and Assistant Professor at McGill in the School of Environment and at Trottier Space Institute. Dr. Mahmoudi received her bachelor of science in integrative biology at the University of Toronto and her PhD in Environmental Geochemistry at McMaster University and has since had an incredibly successful career in geomicrobiology academia, with over a decade of attention-grabbing publications under her belt.
In this episode of STEMcast, we explore Dr. Shuaiqi Guo's academic history as well as his research in adhesive surface chemistry and its relation to antimicrobial resistance. Dr. Guo is an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at McGill University. He completed his education worldwide, starting at the undergraduate level at Mount Allison University, continuing into his Ph.D. at Queen's University, and finally in postdoctoral fellowship at Eindhoven University of Technology and Yale University. His current research is focused on combatting antimicrobial resistance through alternative methods focused on bacterial adhesion, which has particular promise in its ability to circumvent the speed of bacterial evolution by preventing binding in the first place.
This episode of STEMcast focuses on Doctor Shirin Abbasinejad Enger and her research in oncology and medical physics. Dr. Enger is an associate professor in the Department of Oncology at the Jewish General Hospital section of McGill Medicine. Her work focuses in interdisciplinary development and testing of cancer therapies, including brachytherapy and much more. Dr. Enger received her PhD from Uppsala University, and uses her expertise to lead students across multiple branches for cancer research.
In this special collaborative episode of STEMCast (McGill iGEM x UBC-Okanagan iGEM), we speak with Dr. Isaac Li, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Dr. Li's lab builds DNA-based molecular tools to study mechanobiology through single-molecule and quantitative imaging. These tools are used to better understand the cell-cell interactions involved in diseases such as cancer. Dr. Li was named UBCO Faculty Researcher of the Year in 2023. He also acts as the Primary Investigator for the UBC-Okanagan iGEM Team. Join us for this special episode featuring UBC-Okanagan iGEM's Human Practices Lead, Oluwatinufemi (Tinu) Tope-Awofeko.
Dr. Eugene Park is a specialist in the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury and brain injury therapeutics to improve outcomes. Dr. Park graduated with a master's from the department of Physiology at UofT and a Ph.D. from the Institute of Medical Science at UofT as well. Dr. Park is currently working as a Senior Research Associate at Unity Health Toronto.
Dr. Drew Endy is a synthetic biologist and professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University. He helped start new undergraduate majors in bioengineering at both MIT and Stanford. Twenty years ago Drew also helped launch the iGEM competition. As a group of students passionate about building with biology, it's a privilege to be able to speak with Dr. Endy.
In this mini-episode of STEMcast, we speak with Dr. Adalsteinn Brown. Dr. Brown is the Dean of Dalla Lana, the school of public health at the University of Toronto. He obtained his A.B. from Harvard and PhD at Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has been the co-chair of COVID-19 Advisory Board in Ontario and has held many senior leadership roles in health policy. His research interests include health policy, public health emergency preparedness, outcome assessment in healthcare, and equity in healthcare.
Dr. Sandra Hofmann is an Associate Professor in Bioengineering Bone at the Orthopaedic Biomechanics research group at Eindhoven University of Technology. Dr. Hoffmann obtained her masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Basel, Switzerland in 2002, then achieved her Ph.D. with distinctions at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 2007, studying "Silk fibroin as a biomaterial for drug delivery and tissue engineering". Dr. Hofmann specializes in creating a human cell-based, functional, 3D in vitro model of bone which allows for studying interactions between various environmental factors and their effects on the cells. Additionally, these models can be used for studying the interactions between various cell types with bone and also differences between cells from various donors.
On this episode of STEMcast, we’d like to introduce to you Dr. Michael Hendricks. Dr. Hendricks is currently a Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology and Behaviour. He did his BSc at Bowdoin, his PhD at NUS, and postdoc research at Harvard. On top of being a McGill prof, he is the Hendricks Lab at McGill, where he studies the behaviour of C. Elegans roundworms. Dr. Hendricks has published papers not just on worm neuroscience but also on the gender gap in research funding. His lab website is home to a pretty awesome picture of a cowboy water bear on a worm.
On this episode the STEMcast special release, we explore plant biology with Dr. Jaswinder Singh. Dr. Jaswinder Singh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Science at McGill, specializing in genomics, molecular breeding, and biotechnology. He earned his PhD from the University of Sydney and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His research involves epigenetic silencing reversal, novel barley genes linked to Pre-Harvest Sprouting, and cysteine- rich proteins, redox regulation and transcription factors involved in different plant phase transitions. Dr. Singh also directs the NSERC-CREATE program on Genome Editing and has received numerous accolades for his contributions to plant biology.
Dr. Schwarcz is the head of the Office of Science and Society at McGill, which debunks scientific misinformation and provides scientific education to the general public. He also teaches over 3000 students at McGill and is the host of the Dr. Joe Show-a chemistry podcast that has been running for 40+ years-which addresses all kinds of scientific myths and everyday scientific phenomena. In this episode, he addresses the impact of his educational initiatives, the use of statistics, COVID misinformation, and more with McGill iGEM.
Having spent a lifetime dedicated to improving the health of those most in need, and having been chosen as one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2015, few have shaped the public health landscape as profoundly as Dr. Joanne Liu.
Dr. Liu is the former International President of Doctors without Borders, otherwise known as Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). She led the MSF from 2013-2019 and coordinated the organization's response to some of the world's major crises; from the Syrian civil war to the Ebola pandemic. She currently leads the Pandemic and Health Emergency Readiness Lab, and is a member of the United Nations' panel on evaluating the humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She talks to us about coordinating MSF's front-line response to the Ebola pandemic, as well as her time on the ground in Syria during the nation's devastating civil war. We further discuss her role in responding to the current COVID-19 pandemic and her thoughts on the future of pandemic readiness.
Kathryn completed her PhD at McMaster University in the Molecular Immunology, Virology and Inflammation program. Her thesis focused on determining the mechanism behind the beneficial role of TGF-beta on enhancing intestinal epithelial barrier function and protection from EHEC O157:H7 infection. Kathryn went to medical school at the University of Toronto and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Sick Kids, publishing in several fields during this time, including infection and immunity in HIV, ethics and sustainability in global surgery, and ischemia-reperfusion. She has been awarded competitive Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowships and National scholarships throughout her research career. As part of her Vascular Surgery residency (McMaster), Kathryn completed a 3-month clinical and research fellowship at Stanford University and established her own bench research program investigating the role of endothelial microRNA in vascular disease. Kathryn was awarded FRCSC status in 2018 and will provide the full breadth of vascular surgery including endovascular and open aneurysm repair, carotid revascularization, critical limb ischemia, thoracic outlet syndrome, dialysis access, and venous disorders. Her clinical initiative is carotid revascularization and stroke prevention with multi-disciplinary team engagement to triage at-risk patients for early intervention, work that dovetails with Kathryn’s bench research program (see below).
After graduating from The Hebrew University with an MD, she attended the university of toronto starting July of 2005. Since then she has been a Neuroradiologist at the Toronto Western Hospital. Her research interests include: Cerebrovascular imaging, subarachnoid hemorrhage, neurovascular computed tomography (CT) angiography, neurovascular magnetic resonance (MR) angiography and MR venography
From Bellemare himself, "I lead the reinforcement learning efforts of the Google Research team in Montréal, Canada. I also supervise a number of graduate students at Mila, of which I am a core industry member.
My research focuses on two complementary problems in reinforcement learning. First comes the problem of representation: How should a learning system structure and update its knowledge about the environment it operates in? The second problem is concerned with exploration: How should the same learning system organize its decisions to be maximally effective at discovering its environment, and in particular acquiring information to build better representations?"
Dr. Amanda Black is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The University of Ottawa. She completed her training at the University of Western Ontario, The University of Ottawa and Queen’s University, and a Masters of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. She holds appointment at The Ottawa Hospital and The Children’s hospital of Eastern Ontario and is an Associate Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Her subspecialty areas of interest are Contraception / Family Planning and Adolescent Health. She is an active member of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) and sits on the Board of Directors. She has authored several national guidelines, has developed many educational programs, has presented nationally and internationally, and authored numerous publications in her field.
Dr. Black holds the Dr. Elaine Jolly Chair in Women’s Health Research at The University of Ottawa. She has participated in a number on international clinical trials, database studies, and investigator-led clinical studies. Her research focuses on new contraceptive methods, contraceptive use and trends in Canada, access to family planning services, and adolescent sexual health.
Robert Chen, MD, est anesthésiologiste à l'Institut de cardiologie de l'Université d'Ottawa. Le Dr Chen a obtenu son diplôme en médecine de l’Université McMaster en 1992. Il a terminé sa résidence en anesthésiologie à l’Université de Toronto et des bourses en anesthésiologie traumatologique au Ryder Trauma Centre (Université de Miami) et à l’hôpital St. Michael’s (Université de Toronto). Il a également reçu une formation complémentaire en échocardiographie transoesophagienne.
STEMcast est un podcast à but non lucratif qui sert à mettre en évidence les liens entre les sous-domaines très variés de STEM. Nous interviewons des conférenciers invités provenant d'un large éventail de domaines pour répondre aux questions les plus fréquemment posées par les étudiants de premier cycle au sujet de leur carrière respective.
Dr. Aaron is a respirologist with special research and clinical interests in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF). Dr. Aaron's research has been focused on investigating acute pulmonary exacerbations of these diseases, with a specific interest in the critical assessment of interventions designed to prevent exacerbations and improve the diagnosis and treatment of exacerbations of COPD and CF. His other major interest is health services research related to the correct diagnosis and treatment of obstructive lung diseases in Canadian communities.
Dr. Carolyn Nessim is a Surgical Oncologist at the Ottawa Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Ottawa. She completed her MD, MSc (Biomedical Sciences) and General Surgery Residency at the University of Montreal. Her fellowship training was in Surgical Oncology at the University of Toronto and then at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne Australia.She is currently also a Clinician Investigator in the Cancer Therapeutics Program at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) as well as the Program Director for the Complex Surgical Oncology Subspecialty Fellowship training program. Her clinical practice focuses on the treatment of patients with Soft Tissue Sarcoma/GIST, Melanoma/Skin Cancers, Gastric cancer and Neuroendocrine Tumours. She is the Regional Co-Lead for Melanoma and Skin Cancers and Gastric Cancer in the Champlain LHIN. She has been invited as a speaker and moderator at several national and international conferences on the topics of Sarcoma and Melanoma. She is a member of Cancer Care Ontario's Skin Cancer Advisory Board as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Technical Expert Group for Melanoma.
Dr. Hakim's research interests have included the study of the biochemical, ionic, molecular and receptor events that determine selective cerebral vulnerability in stroke and other conditions, the determination of conditions for neuroprotection against ischemic damage, and investigation of post-stroke plasticity and means of enhancing it. During the course of his career, he has published more than 150 scientific papers and received in excess of $65 million in research funding.
As Landry described "My ideal clients lead active lifestyles. Either being professionals in management, health field, sports or the arts industry, they know the importance of a well balanced life and how hard it is to achieve. They are professionals who want to better their emotional and relational lives while overcoming obstacles that might prevent them from becoming who they were meant to be. My clients value others, are willing to be vulnerable and want to contribute to the world around them on a small or a large scale. They value honesty and have the courage to change something others might fear to change. They aspire to lead meaningful lives"
Advances in technology, accelerated by commercial electronics, are revolutionizing how we monitor biomedical data; this includes wearable, pervasive, and continuous monitoring systems. These new biomedical monitor systems are fueling a large increase in the amount of biomedical data but also a decrease in data quality, with data being acquired with low-cost (lower-quality) systems, in uncontrolled environments, and by non-expert users. While there is useful information in these data, low quality biomedical data can result in misinformation, including false alarm and misdiagnoses. Dr. Chan's research group has been examining ways of:
- detecting low quality biomedical data
- identifying types of contaminants
- quantifying biomedical signal quality
- leveraging biomedical signal quality knowledge in biomedical systems
Dr. Fraser received her first PhD in mathematics at the university of Stanford in 1994, followed by her second PhD in computer science at the university of Chicago in 2010. Her primary focus of research is Machine Learning (statistical machine learning and toplogical data analysis), along with Contact/Symplectic Geomtry and Computational Geomtry. Her focus in Machine Learning is its interaction with Neuroscience, specifically in understanding theoretical principles governing both artificial and biological learning, developing data-analytic tools for neuroscience data, and taking inspiration from biological learning to develop machine learning algorithm.
Dr. John Bell received his PhD from McMaster University in 1982. The three years that followed, he trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa and then at the Medical Research Council in London, England. Dr. Bell began his independent research career at McGill University in 1986 and moved to the University of Ottawa, Department of Medicine, in 1989. He is a member of the Center for Cancer Therapeutics at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Center, a Senior Scientist with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He heads the Canadian Oncolytic Virus Consortium, a Terry Fox funded group from across Canada that is developing virus based cancer therapeutics and is the Director of the Biotherapeutics Program for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. He is the Scientific Director of the National Centre of Excellence for the development of Biotherapeutics for Cancer Therapy and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Robert Chen, MD, is a staff anesthesiologist at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Dr. Chen received his medical degree from McMaster University in 1992. He completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Toronto and fellowships in trauma anesthesiology at the Ryder Trauma Center (University of Miami) and St. Michael’s Hospital (University of Toronto). He also received further training in transesophageal echocardiography.
STEMcast is a not-for-profit podcast that serves to highlight the connections between the largely varying subfields of STEM. We interview guest speakers from a diverse range of fields to answer the most commonly asked questions by undergraduate students about their respective career.